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"Utterly transfixing thanks to its quaint ability to take a seemingly innocent subject—a soccer player's drive toward becoming a striker—and elevate it to nigh-Olympian importance." – Slant
Made in 1978 and recently digitally restored, Centre Forward is the story of In Son, a young, wannabe soccer player with big dreams of joining the North Korean national team. Unfortunately, he's injured during his first game and with the team losing, In Son feels he's let himself down as well as his teammates, his family and his country. The coach seems to agree and puts the whole club through an agonising new training regime. But will it be enough to make a star out of In Son?
Co-directed by Pak Chong-song, widely considered one of the DPRK's best filmmakers, Centre Forward makes sumptuous use of dynamic black-and-white cinematography and rousing action scenes, and ultimately proves the universality of the world game.
"It is bizarrely fascinating to watch this Rocky unfold with all its idiosyncrasies … At times, it is downright surreal." – Libertas
D Kim Kil-in, Pak Chong-song S Sol Ju Yong Dist Koryo Tours L Korean w/English subtitles TD digibeta/1978